Am I the only one seeing this where people who scored 514+ on AAMC FLs scoring a few pts more than their average?

[whiteclaww]

It seems like it's prevalently happening for the COVID test.

All my friends (N = 8) scored a few points (3-7 pts) higher than their AAMC FLs.
Sure the sample size is small, but this never happened previously...

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[Philly145]

It's a wash. If you look on the score threads on r/mcat there's a lot of people who scored less than their FL average.

 

[ScrubswithnoSleeves]

It's a wash. If you look on the score threads on r/mcat there's a lot of people who scored less than their FL average.

Yeah that's how it is every year. I was one of those who got shafted haha. 517 avg (521 on FL4) and ended up with a 514

 

[deleted555445]

if you look at some of the aggregate data on reddit, people tend to perform roughly 2.4 points better on average than their average AAMC FL. however, you would have to assume most of the people reporting are reporting because they were happy with their score, skewing the data up.

i wouldn't be surprised if the trend was positive, just because people in theory SHOULD be getting better from reviewing their mistakes on FL's and honing their timing, but to say its anything like 3-7 points higher on average is unrealistic. my best guess would be somewhere around 0.5-1 on average, with a very wide range of possibilities in both directions.

 

[gramnegative]

My MCAT was 3.5 higher, but I don't think that it was due to the shortened test, which actually felt harder/more pressed for time.

 

[KnightDoc]

It's a wash. If you look on the score threads on r/mcat there's a lot of people who scored less than their FL average.

This^^^^. My observation is that, because less questions are scored on the shortened test than on the FLs, the impact of each incorrect response is amplified. As a result, it looks like there are greater variances between the actual test and the FLs than usual, for most people. As with everything else, it has to work both ways, depending on how lucky you end up being in terms of whether your particular form of the test hits a few more or less questions that give you trouble.

 

[Shunsui]

Next score release, pay attention to the 'score release rxn thread' and also be on the lookout for 'new' posts. I saw plenty of people scoring upwards of +8 from their FL averages but saw maybe 1 person report scoring below their avg on the 'score release thread'. Throughout the day, i noticed a lot 'new' posts of people claiming they dropped big time (like around -8) and opinions on retakes. You'll also notice that people pre-write their thoughts on the exam before the score release occurs but you never see them back come to fill in their 'actual' score. This is most likely because they saw a drop from their FL avg.

Imo, a lot of it comes to luck based on what you're given on exam day. Could get some CARS passages that'll be interesting for you or not. Could get a whole passage dedicated to your 1 weakness or passages catering to your strengths

 

[JimKimSlim]

The MCAT will always be normalized so that 500 = 50th percentile. With so many test-takers, you can easily assume a bell curve for their grade distribution. By the central limit theorem, there should be equal number of people who scored above and below 500. If there were more students who scored above their AAMC FL’s, it’s likely because there were more students taking and highly unlikely because the test was easier.

 

[ScrubswithnoSleeves]

i wouldn't be surprised if the trend was positive, just because people in theory SHOULD be getting better from reviewing their mistakes on FL's and honing their timing,

Yeah, but I think this discounts the concomitant stress of test day. Some probably get a boost from whatever that psychological principle is called (its on the MCAT actually lol) that increases your performance under pressure if you feel well prepared and detriments others if they don't feel as prepared.

 

[jamaica jan sun princess]

This^^^^. My observation is that, because less questions are scored on the shortened test than on the FLs, the impact of each incorrect response is amplified. As a result, it looks like there are greater variances between the actual test and the FLs than usual, for most people. As with everything else, it has to work both ways, depending on how lucky you end up being in terms of whether your particular form of the test hits a few more or less questions that give you trouble.

Hold up. The number of scored questions is the same between the normal and shortened length exams.

How is the AAMC shortening the length of the MCAT exam?
The number of scored questions remains the same. Other elements of the exam have been reduced or removed to shorten the seated time, such as the tutorial and end-of-day survey.

FAQs: The MCAT Exam and COVID-19

Frequently asked questions about the MCAT Exam and COVID-19.

www.aamc.org

 

[deleted555445]

Yeah, but I think this discounts the concomitant stress of test day. Some probably get a boost from whatever that psychological principle is called (its on the MCAT actually lol) that increases your performance under pressure if you feel well prepared and detriments others if they don't feel as prepared.

Definitely true, depends where they are on the Yerkes-Dodson Law curve! I'm just saying that, if one assumes that people are taking FL's to gauge their future performance and also to learn their pitfalls, on average people should trend better for the actual test. However, I doubt the average improvement would be very high and the spread in each direction would be big enough that one couldn't rely on it to be accurate. And I agree test anxiety probably brings it down again to the point where trying to determine where the trend should be is useless lol.

 

[KnightDoc]

Hold up. The number of scored questions is the same between the normal and shortened length exams.

FAQs: The MCAT Exam and COVID-19

Frequently asked questions about the MCAT Exam and COVID-19.

www.aamc.org

Actually, no. You are quoting from a FAQ published on 7/8. I am quoting from Addressing Concerns and Questions From MCAT® Examinees and Medical School Applicants
published on 7/10 and updated on 7/23. I am pretty sure that they removed more questions than only those that were experimental, based on the later document.

Addressing Concerns and Questions From MCAT® Examinees and Medical School Applicants


The Full-Length versus Shortened MCAT Exam

Students will still be tested on all four sections of the exam and will be responsible for demonstrating the same knowledge and skills at the same levels of difficulty as on the full-length exam. While there is a small reduction in the number of test questions in each test section, the shortened exam maintains the same format and tests the same things as the full-length test. Students will receive the same scores on the shortened exam as they do on the full-length exam. They will receive five scores: one from each of the four sections and one combined total score. Additionally, scores from the shortened exam have the same precision and are reported with the same confidence bands as scores from the full-length exam. Admissions officers will know which students took the shortened exam. They understand that some of their applicants have had disrupted learning and experienced multiple disruptions in preparing for the MCAT exam. These events will be contextualized in the admissions process and many schools are adding a question to their secondary applications to collect information on how their applicants have been affected by the pandemic.

 

[jamaica jan sun princess]

Actually, no. You are quoting from a FAQ published on 7/8. I am quoting from Addressing Concerns and Questions From MCAT® Examinees and Medical School Applicants
published on 7/10 and updated on 7/23. I am pretty sure that they removed more questions than only those that were experimental, based on the later document.

Addressing Concerns and Questions From MCAT® Examinees and Medical School Applicants


The Full-Length versus Shortened MCAT Exam

Students will still be tested on all four sections of the exam and will be responsible for demonstrating the same knowledge and skills at the same levels of difficulty as on the full-length exam. While there is a small reduction in the number of test questions in each test section, the shortened exam maintains the same format and tests the same things as the full-length test. Students will receive the same scores on the shortened exam as they do on the full-length exam. They will receive five scores: one from each of the four sections and one combined total score. Additionally, scores from the shortened exam have the same precision and are reported with the same confidence bands as scores from the full-length exam. Admissions officers will know which students took the shortened exam. They understand that some of their applicants have had disrupted learning and experienced multiple disruptions in preparing for the MCAT exam. These events will be contextualized in the admissions process and many schools are adding a question to their secondary applications to collect information on how their applicants have been affected by the pandemic.

I'll be the first to admit it doesn't truly matter in the grand scheme of the MCAT and medical admissions. But, the bolded portion of your quote doesn't state that the removed questions are actual graded test questions, just that some are removed.

 

[KnightDoc]

I'll be the first to admit it doesn't truly matter in the grand scheme of the MCAT and medical admissions. But, the bolded portion of your quote doesn't state that the removed questions are actual graded test questions, just that some are removed.

You are correct, but the first document explicitly stated that the number of scored questions would remain the same, while the second one removed that language and implied that the number of scored questions would be reduced. Which makes sense, since the number of questions went from 53 and 59 to 48 in all sections. While anything is possible, it seems unlikely that 38 questions were unscored test questions in the full length exam. That just seems like a lot, and it also seems likely that if the number of scored questions did not change, that would have been worth mentioning in the second document.

 

[whiteclaww]

You are correct, but the first document explicitly stated that the number of scored questions would remain the same, while the second one removed that language and implied that the number of scored questions would be reduced. Which makes sense, since the number of questions went from 53 and 59 to 48 in all sections. While anything is possible, it seems unlikely that 38 questions were unscored test questions in the full length exam. That just seems like a lot, and it also seems likely that if the number of scored questions did not change, that would have been worth mentioning in the second document.

What if actually only 12 questions from each section actually get scored? That would be really interesting. lmao.